BOISE - Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has signed into law a bill that would expand Idaho's open meeting laws.
Otter signed the measure on Monday along with nearly 40 other bills.
Beginning July 1, boards and commissions created by executive order will now be subjected to the Idaho Open Meeting Law. Currently, these panels are not required to let the public know when they're meeting, post an agenda or keep minutes summarizing what they discussed. Nor are the meetings required to be open to the public, even though most - if not all - are.
However, the measure will continue to exempt Otter's cybersecurity task force and the governor's committee awarding the Idaho medal of achievement.
Otter also signed into law a proposal making it illegal for anyone driving in the left lane of a controlled-access freeway to impede the flow of the traffic in that lane.
